At Summer Games Fest, we got to hands on with Supermassive’s next game and the first entry in the second season of The Dark Pictures Anthology with Directive 8020. This space horror entry in the franchise was described to us an an evolution of the decade long horror formula and style that the studio has been doing. From the short time we got to play it, there was such a noticeable difference compared to their other games, and this feels like a true step up for the studio.
The game features characters crashing on the planet Tau Ceti f and have to deal with a shapeshifting alien creature that the crew must survive against. There are five playable characters which include some powerful stars like Lashana Lynch and Danny Sapani. Characters can survive or die at points in the game, and each characters have two destinies, unless they die, that players can build towards as you develop their traits through the choices you make. As a first, there will also be NPCs that can die or survive, and there is even an ending for getting all playable and nonplayable characters to survive the events of the game.
From a gameplay perspective, Directive 8020 is also an evolution as the studio has implemented real time threats where players will need to hide from the alien creature and avoid it in areas while trying to escape or solving puzzles. You are also equipped with a scanner that can hack electronics to to distract the creatures as well as a electric rod that can get you out of the creature’s grasp if it grabs you. Then, the biggest new addition to the series with this game is the introduction of a rewind feature. This will allow players to rewind in specific moments such as when a character dies or gets injured and make a different choice. This allows for players to save a character immediately instead of having to fully restart the game or chapter. However, for fans who still want a pure playthrough where your choices are final, there will be a survival mode with no rewind feature.
Fans won’t have to wait too much longer for Directive 8020 as it is set to release later this year on October 2, 2025.